Kora 3D - Professional Home and Office 3D Printers and 3D Print Filaments.

The Kora Alpha is Kora's first professional desktop 3D printer, designed and made in Great Britain for both Home and Office use.

What makes the Kora Alpha 3D printer so much better than the competition?

The Kora Alpha has been designed as a professional 3D print solution for home and office use. With this in mind, and to really set it apart from the competition, our technicians knew they had to build a printer with enough headspace to cater for most projects, a fast enough 3D print and overall make the printer more efficient. Crucially with the Alpha, we were all too aware of the poor build quality and poor components commonly used in the industry. As TCT magazine report, all the wires have been tidied and we have opted for higher quality easily swapped components. The technicians even went one better, they future proofed the Alpha too by designing a print head that is easily swapped hence catering for future developments and the usuage of different materials.

We also knew that product guarantee was important as afterall this is a very new industry with very new ideas. Our guarantee to our customers is that if any part is faulty in the first year, we will send you another printer without you having to wait for a back to manufacturer repair. We want you to enjoy and use your printer. More importantly, we do not have countless investors or share holders, Kora is financed privately and operates from its own brick built research and development warehouse in Leeds. It is being financed by a private company that was listed by the Telegraphs fast track 100 and that acutley knows how important part quality is.

Standing at 470 mm high with a 400 mm by 420 mm footprint the Alpha packs an impressive 230 mm x 230 mm x 250 mm build volume for a moderate use of desktop real estate. On first sight there is little to distinguish the system from one of the dozens of other similar sized, similar shaped 3D printer — but the devil as always is the details.

For starters, the filament feed motor is located on the side of the machine, rather than on the top of the extruder a detail that at first seems a little incongruous. While it de-clutters the action-end of the printer, the reason isn’t entirely clear until one learns about the extruder swap-out system Kora has developed. Dubbed VariBLOCK, it allows users to quickly and easily swap out the hot end, greatly increasing the scope for materials — not to mention making servicing, upgrading and repairs much easier for less technical users.

A lot of work has gone into ensuring that the printer is low-maintenance and, to bastardise the old Formula 1 adage, if it looks simple it probably is. Gone are the bulky wiring looms to be replaced with PCB’s with integrated LED lighting running neatly up the back of the printer away from danger. The same can be said for the heated bed that has been developed to heat up quickly and evenly across the whole of the available build area while retaining an uncluttered look. In operation the quality of the components and assembly is evident through the quiet wobble free printing — this is a system that could sit at the end of your desk and be used without driving you and your colleagues to distraction.

Back your products

The quality is also backed up by an unprecedented 12-month warranty whereby the company will send you a replacement printer first and rectify any issues later. No back-to-base replacements here (especially annoying when you realise that ‘base’ is somehow an address in the Philippines and you’re based in Boston.) Steve Burrows explained:

“If you’re confident in the quality of your components and engineering there’s no reason not to offer a comprehensive warranty. Although complex, the technologies that underpin extrusion-based 3D printing and well-proven and shouldn’t pose any problems. Our experience as OE supplier into some of the most demanding companies means we’re willing to put our reputation behind the quality of the Alpha.”

Beyond the base specification there are a number of exciting options up for grabs including Wi-Fi connectivity, on-board webcam, dual extruder upgrade and — with the education sector in mind — a fully enclosed version with an automatic locking mechanism that seals the unit above 40°C.